THE PEDAGOGY OF TINKERING: “CONSTRUCTIONS” FOR STEAMS WITH LEGO® BRICKS

Vincenza Barra

Abstract


Tinkering is a pedagogical approach that promotes learning through exploration, experimentation and creativity. Based on the idea of Creative Thinking, it enables students to develop critical and creative thinking by solving problems intuitively and iteratively. An emblematic example of this methodology is the use of LEGO® bricks, versatile tools that allow students to build, disassemble and rework ideas in a continuous process of discovery and innovation. LEGO® bricks, placed in an educational context, foster the development of STEAM skills and encourage collaboration, resilience and problem-solving. The present study explores the potential of Tinkering in educational practice through the use of bricks, highlighting how they can become an engine for meaningful learning and knowledge building through doing.


Keywords


Tinkering; Embodied learning; Spatial cognition; Creative thinking; Pedagogy.

Full Text:

PDF

References


Aiello, P., Di Gennaro, D. C., Sibilio, M., & Zollo, I. (2017). Il concetto di autodeterminazione in una prospettiva semplessa: possibili implicazioni per l'agire didattico dei docenti. Educational reflective practices: 1, 2017, 96-109.

Amico, L. (2012). La Stanza Logo-Motoria. Un ambiente multimodale interattivo per l'insegnamento a bambini in situazione di multi-disabilità.

Bandura, A. (2001). Social cognitive theory: An agentic perspective. Annual Review of Psychology, 52(1), 1–26.

Barra, V. (2021). La pedagogia del corpo in chiave semplessa. Edizioni Universitarie Romane.

Bevan, B., Gutwill, J. P., Petrich, M., & Wilkinson, K. (2015). Learning through STEM-rich tinkering: Findings from a jointly negotiated research project taken up in practice. Science Education, 99(1), 98–120.

Brown, T. (2009). Change by Design: How Design Thinking Creates New Alternatives for Business and Society. Harvard Business Press.

D'Aprile, G. (2018). Poetica del tempo educativo. Pedagogia oggi, 16(2).

Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1985). Intrinsic Motivation and Self-Determination in Human Behavior. Springer.

Donato, S. (2023). Educazione alla cittadinanza globale: per un cambio di paradigma della scuola italiana. Quaderni di Intercultura, 99-111.

Ellerani, P., & Patera, S. (2021). Il modello pedagogico-didattico ecosistema espansivo delle scuole: una ricerca culturale sulle pratiche quotidiane dei docenti.

Fiorucci, A. (2019). La funzione docente nello sviluppo e nella promozione di una scuola inclusiva. Formazione, lavoro, persona, 20, 79-90.

Gardner, H. (1993). Multiple Intelligences: The Theory in Practice. Basic Books.

Gaspari, P. (2024). La narrazione interroga la Pedagogia Speciale: La sfida di abitare nuove storie inclusive. FrancoAngeli.

Gaspari, P., Lombardi, G., & Testa, S. (2023). La scuola inclusiva come contesto di cura e di formazione del docente specializzato. Annali online della Didattica e della Formazione Docente, 15(25), 6-24.

Guilford, J. P. (1950). Creativity. American Psychologist, 5(9), 444–454.

Kolb, D. A. (1984). Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development. Prentice Hall.

Malaguzzi, L. (1996). The hundred languages of children. In E. C. Edwards, L. Gandini, & G. Forman (Eds.), The Hundred Languages of Children: The Reggio Emilia Approach to Early Childhood Education (pp. 3–10). Ablex.

Martinez, S. L., & Stager, G. (2013). Invent to Learn: Making, Tinkering, and Engineering in the Classroom. Constructing Modern Knowledge Press.

Morsanuto, S., Ludovisi, F., & Cassese, F. P. (2022). Progettazione didattica inclusiva, nella scuola primaria, attraverso la fotografia. ITALIAN JOURNAL OF SPECIAL EDUCATION FOR INCLUSION, 10(1), 351-368.

Palma, M. L., & Galimberti, A. (2024). Senza lavoro e fuori dal tempo? La temporalità come variabile centrale per ripensare il rapporto tra individuo ed esperienza del lavoro. MeTis-Mondi educativi. Temi, indagini, suggestioni, 14(1), 176-194.

Paloma, F. G. (2013). Embodied cognitive science: atti incarnati della didattica (Vol. 1). Edizioni Nuova Cultura.

Papert, S. (1980). Mindstorms: Children, Computers, and Powerful Ideas. Basic Books.

Papert, S. (1991). Situating Constructionism. MIT Media Lab.

Papert, S. (1993). The Children's Machine: Rethinking School in the Age of the Computer. Basic Books.

Papert, S. (1993). The Children's Machine: Rethinking School in the Age of the Computer. Basic Books.

Piaget, J. (1972). Psychology and Epistemology: Towards a Theory of Knowledge. Penguin.

Resnick, M. (2017). Lifelong Kindergarten: Cultivating Creativity through Projects, Passion, Peers, and Play. MIT Press.

Resnick, M., & Rosenbaum, E. (2013). Designing for tinkerability. In Honey, M. & Kanter, D. (Eds.), Design, Make, Play: Growing the Next Generation of STEM Innovators (pp. 163–181). Routledge.

Sibilio, M. (2012). Elementi di complessità della valutazione motoria in ambiente educativo. Italian Journal Of Educational Research, (8), 163-174.

Varela, F. J., Thompson, E., & Rosch, E. (1991). The Embodied Mind: Cognitive Science and Human Experience. MIT Press.

Vygotskij, L. S. (1978). Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes (M. Cole et al., Eds.). Harvard University Press. (Opera originale pubblicata nel 1934).




DOI: https://doi.org/10.32043/gsd.v9i1.1523

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright (c) 2025 ITALIAN JOURNAL OF HEALTH EDUCATION, SPORT AND INCLUSIVE DIDACTICS

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Italian Journal of Health Education, Sports and Inclusive Didactics 
ISSN printed: 2532-3296